Sting performs at the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center as part of his world tour with the Royal Concert Orchestra.

Luiz C. Ribeiro

The show, called Symphonicity -- a word play on The Police's 1983 album "Synchronicity" -- was a clever musical treatment that humbly placed the importance on the music rather than Sting's celebrity. At the same time, it was also a major boast by Sting when he claimed his music can stand up to the power and grandeur of a full classical orchestra.

Luiz C. Ribeiro

Sting is a complex man, but in the end, this reinvention of his songbook was simple. At this classy affair, Sting and company played classics like "Roxanne," which got a brass and string treatment. By playing it with a moody instrumentation and a Latin undercurrent, Sting's old story about devotion to a street walker seemed new again.

Luiz C. Ribeiro

Sting, who created many of his best songs while he was in a little trio called The Police, should know size doesn't matter. Nonetheless, during numbers like the sad but powerful "I Hung My Head," "King of Pain" and "Every Breath you Take," there was balance between the rock and the symphonic.

Luiz C. Ribeiro

Any nagging thoughts that this was a schlock 'n' roll orchestral maneuver by a rocker star seeking high-brow relevance were completely rubbed out by the force of the ensemble as it floated Sting's reedy vocals. It was one of the must-see concerts of the year.